arrangement free is free. you free. young and free broadcast quality video for your media projects free media r.t. dot com. today's news and the week's top stories egypt's new constitution enshrining is not alone looks set to pass most voters back the draft referendum preceded by weeks of protests. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun the gun lobby logic which has incensed to millions of americans call it tougher controls as a country pays its final tribute to the infants and teachers killed last week's shooting massacre. moscow moves

a step closer to banning americans from adopting russian children response to washington stopping sanctions on russian officials. and wiki leaks some new year revelations. promises of more than a million secret files will leave government untouched. from without. carry just. egyptians have had their say in the historic vote on the new constitution that's reveal the deep divisions within the country and sparked violent protests the majority appear to have said yes to the islamist drafted document but the opposition claims the referendum was riddled with fraud and promises to appeal the results in cairo based journalist

true. the preliminary results are in for egypt's contentious constitutional referendum egypt appears to voted for the constitution sixty four percent say yes. thirty six percent have said no this comes after mass to send in the streets across the country with the cost three weeks against this constitution opposition forces say for the presidential dictatorship and was drafted by an islamist dominated assembly of the twenty seven governors that went to vote in the last week only three voted against the constitution. this in the last round is largely due to the fact that in the last seventeen governments they went to vote a large amount of them are rural governorates who with large muslim brotherhood supports places the opposition forces for their part to say that the reason it is a yes is because of electoral violations they say they've seen a number of instances of power possible vote rigging including missing judges

unsupervised polling stations missing ballot papers stuff the ballot boxes and also campaigning by the mr brotherhood groups also ultra conservative salafist groups with in the polling stations telling people to vote yes the biggest news of the day however is the resignation of the vice president mohamed mickey this is largely seen to be perhaps because in the draft constitution as it currently stands there is no post for the vice president this comes in the background of deepening violence across the country on friday we saw clashes between rival protest groups limits rallies in egypt second city xandra in support of the constitution there was rock throwing and also burning of cars the police had to intervene with tear gas that comes just one week after a similar clashes and xandra and of course three weeks after very bloody scenes here in the capital cairo we saw ten people die when robert. he says. for outside

the presidential palace with a deepening political crisis in niger cites backing down now the constitution is likely to be put in place we can only expect dissent from the street and possible violence across the country. talk to on the egyptian journalist and blogger who voted against the draft constitution he explained why the document is bad for the country but it was passed nevertheless. i did vote myself and i voted no for the constitution and i think the vote this vote is not about the constitution but about the legitimacy of the muslim brotherhood and the direction they're taking the country the constitution itself is very flawed it takes away more freedoms it gives police powers to detain people for more than twelve hours or twelve hours and cement the military role in egypt something unprecedented in all of egypt's constitution the numbers so far in the past results have indicated that this

constitution will pass the amount of voting illegal irregularities confirm that and the regime is determined as well to to let the. but egypt is just one of the countries engulfed by the arab spring where many have been left i'm happy about how their revolution panned out later we report on the men and women across the arab world who fired up entire nations julie uprisings now say they've been left behind . it's been a heartbreaking week of farewells in newtown connecticut where twenty children and six adults have been laid to rest after one of the worst mass shootings in american history the massacre reignited this debate on gun laws whose critics say make it too easy for the public to access military grade weapons is going to chicken now on whether america is ready to change its second amendment. a week after the

tragedy at the elementary school in newtown president obama made the same pledge when he became president four years ago to try and get assault weapons off the streets of the u.s. it's a pledge he has failed to deliver on this is not the first issue the first incident but we're going after for you. but the administration indicates this time it's different this time they're serious. and. the most volatile take coach shooting is full and it's a school and it's an important part of our spirit the debate taking place at the moment suggests a national consensus on the issue is far down the line and the dialogue between those who support and those who oppose such a ban comes down to this with guns come safety if the guns are in the hands of the good guys if you not believe the stupid man on the powerful special interest group in washington the national rifle association has successfully fought any form of

gun control legislation for years and the solution they offer to the epidemic of gun violence that has plagued the us is more guns. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. constitutional lawyer roger pilon things along the same lines and suggest arming teachers to prevent massacres like the one in newtown connecticut you're always going to have people who are going to be doing these kinds of evil deeds what you need to do is protect yourself against the weapons in schools and you go to a movie theater you have to carry a gun because there will be there maybe someone with a semiautomatic you know wiping out the entire theater. as we have seen is that what you're suggesting. where do you put it provocatively like that what i'm suggesting people movie theater yes because the police cannot be everywhere

there are almost three hundred million privately owned firearms in the u.s. around ten thousand americans die in gun violence every year the gun murder rate in the u.s. is almost twenty times higher than in the next twenty two richest and most populous nations combined. we have three hundred million guns in america but also the population of three hundred million people so it's one gun per person and if more guns are actually the solution to deterring shootings it many times it would have this problem in the first place the gun adam lanza use to kill twenty young children and six adults at the sandy hook elementary school was an a r fifteen semiautomatic rifle it's a military style rifle that can shoot hundreds of rounds at a record speed it belongs to adams mother who he also murdered nancy lanza a teacher at the same elementary school owned six guns numerous types of assault

weapons are readily available for purchase in the u.s. at gun stores at gun shows and online after the newtown tragedy many americans are calling for change again. they couldn't hear. me. because you can't create previous meaningful attempts to change a wall and that wall is the second amendment of the constitution the right of the people to bear arms skeptics say the most can do is require background checks. but again adam lanza's mother a teacher at an elementary school would have probably passed any of those checks and her military style rifle would have ended up in the hands of her son anyway that constitutional lawyer i spoke to seemed very certain that nothing major is going to change when it comes to. america does that mean more massacres like the tragedy in newtown in washington i'm going to. we're going to you don't. you think

can be done to reduce the number of gun deaths in the u.s. here's how your views stack up so far today thirty five percent think the media should be forbidden from overhyping messages slightly fewer say nothing can be done while the second amendment is in place but a fifth of respondents according to a new gun that was in restrictions ten percent proposing creasing security in public places have your say by having to. there's been a series of a tit for tat moves between moscow and washington this week including a ban in progress to stop americans adopting russian children which was approved by russia's lower house of parliament thousands of americans responded by asking the

white house to consider imposing sanctions on russia nor makers of the russian ban which has also split the public within the country is part of why don't they just nation to target those who abuse the rights of russians and do what it was sparked by washington imposing travel and financial restrictions on russian officials suspected of involvement in the death of neuer so again. he died in custody during a massive tax fraud investigation three years ago and president putin says the u.s. should look at its own record before criticizing others when human rights violations. and our us are partners and their lawmakers say they are concerned about human rights in our prisons and that's fine of course but there are plenty of issues they have themselves abu ghraib and guantanamo where for years people have been detained without charge it's inconceivable that prisoners walk around in chains like in the middle ages they've legalized torture inside their own country

if something like that happened here it would cause an international outcry but it all remains quiet in the us we've heard plenty of promises to close guantanamo but it's still there it's still operating maybe there is still torture going on there secret cia prisons has anyone been brought to account and they're pointing at our problems well thank you we're aware of that making this the ground for passing anti russian laws it's something absurd and we have in no way provoked such action. and when it was president putin's comments came during his first major news conference since returning to the kremlin it was the highlights of that q. and a session later today here in r.t. . now in spain on thursday thousands attended a mock funeral march for the country's finances of a series of mass protests failed to stop

a new batch of cuts that's been labeled the budget of hunger and misery include some thirty nine billion euros with extra austerity investment advisor patrick young says madrid's a burden is a result of years of government mistakes the truth is there is no money to pay all of these nurses and doctors there is no money for this love fish government infrastructure it has to be privatized sold off there have to be salvaged cuts because truly spain has spent the last decade living on the never never it was built on the back of a huge property bubble the bubble was unsustainable nobody managed to manage that and unfortunately while we can obviously say it's a tragedy for the poor independent healthcare professionals there's just no way to manage to find the money to aid them in modern spain here is a government that has effectively and an overall majority they can do absolutely anything they want and they seem to be absolutely determined to do more or less nothing and it's really a tragedy because they're not helping the spanish economy and they're not helping

the people either. look at the week's key world events continues after a break stay with us. on the edge of human capability. struggling with pain and grief. lay out to become the first. force call in the. deadly rivals the decades. if good fifteen thousand people killing each other in any other country there would be diplomats there would be a lot of. self imposed out costs from society i will attack myself chemical attack my brother

understand my contacts immediately. going into the basically attack the columns of my anger and my frustration. that upgrade well into the ten dollars. to the most violent gangs in us history. is just all model kill or be killed with colors matching the national flag. but this country uses violence when it reaches and then it legitimizes the violence they are made in america on the oxy.

you. it will be a nervous new year for governments around the world they are nervous new year's is to publish more than a million secret files over the next twelve months but he said information it came to affect every single country in the world when the pledge came from the whistle blowing web site's founder julian assange on it today with a christmas address to supporters who had gathered outside the ecuadorian embassy in london the speech marked six months since the sound went in to seek political asylum and avoid extradition but never since facing arrest if he steps outside well

kristinn hrafnsson from wiki leaks insists on his predicament won't stop the site which drives the truth and transparency. when we know about the ongoing. investigation and the secret grand jury you know sandra in virginia there is. an ongoing attempt to find an angle to bring charges against julian and possibly all those working for we believe is a very serious matter of course very shameful for the obama administration not to stop that for the man who was right even taken four years ago to increase transparency and what we have seen is. the opposite which hunt against whistleblowers. first verse in history will continue our work as we have done despite the difficult situation that has been in the ecuador embassy you know for six months but probably it was the house arrest that hasn't stopped us we have

continued our work. the economic blockade has not stopped us either even though we're getting into a dire situation financially but the battle that we have to so it's. all out war and i'm sure we'll have a victory there as well in the new year. some retired an m.p. and choose a coaching career others took a very different path this. three time. now having a very saucy second job in las vegas by the more online. world watch out it seems that data armageddon has apparently only been delayed dot com a details of how and when the world could turn to dust.

russia's foreign minister says western states are losing control over the syrian rebels and would not be prepared to intervene in the country's civil conflict so your lover also said that during private talks with western officials he got the impression that u.s. and its allies were quietly crying for russia china to carry on blocking intervention. both countries have repeatedly veto such resolutions on syria he spoke exclusively to the foreign minister who described the international community and them. as warring. groups of the opposition which are several which are not united on this single comment they also resort to an acceptable methods salute the contrary to international humanitarian law. taken hostages. staging terrorist attacks and it is very disheartening that our western called rigs in the security council started to

refuse. terrorist attacks in syria saying that yes there is music. but you must take concrete count the overall context of what is going on in syria and why people resort to terrorist attacks it's absolutely unacceptable and this logic. might lead us if we follow this logic might lead us to a very dangerous situation not only in the middle east but in other parts of the world if. the west would stop would begin to. qualify terrorist as. bad terrorist and acceptable terrorists. thousands of protesters held a series of rallies in bahrain this week demanding a transitional government and the removal of the prime minister who's been running the country for about forty years some demonstrations turned violent as police

fired tear gas and arrested activists one of them posting on twitter about the protests his tweets describe security forces directing pepper spray just as faces but he was accused of giving out false information the gulf monarchy has repeatedly been criticised by human rights groups for its crackdown on the opposition movement which has seen eighty people killed during almost two years among the rest scientist says that unlike other arab uprisings western governments are not particularly interested in what the bahrain authorities are getting up to. they're trying to crack down on the opposition. national community we have left the protests but at the same time they are. being just as they are jailing three quarters of the population. and the relation is no longer. relation want to leave. the country they want democracy they're

tired of two hundred thirty years. here why is silence of the united states when the violations of human rights are so gross i just mean are generally quiet. and of course you and everyone else no matter the reason and the fearfully. in bahrain. but it's still uncertain whether bahrain's arab spring style uprising will spill into a full scale revolution as happened in other nations with the support of western states when the first wave of unrest began in two newsy a two years ago few could have seen how far it would spread and want results it would bring really are going to school reports from the cradle of the arab spring on those left behind. it began here in tunisia two years ago when a poverty stricken french vendor set himself on fire in an act of desperation some say he was a hero others say he was a drunkard with

a history of psychological problems whatever mohali was this is real motivation was his act of self-immolation set up a string of events which became known as the arab spring decades old regimes were toppled what came to replace them is hardly what most of the people in these countries had in mind when they were doing the revolutions they wanted freedom of speech and free elections bred on their tables and jobs what they got seems to be a very different result situationist war strife comparison to. comparison to the years before. the revolution personally i don't feel safe. when we see. all the violence of the police. or of salafist or. if unpoliced attacked by some nationalist people.

there are less freedoms right now when it comes to on their own freedoms there are attacks on individual freedoms every day i received so many messages from girls saying but they were. straight even by police men. who didn't tolerate their or their way off but there are saying this is to be a common pattern in the countries that ushered in so arab spring just two years ago hopes of transition from authoritarian regime to a new democratic forms of government seem to have halted rising islamism economies in shambles and increasing just content the pattern is the same in tunisia and egypt where people are pouring out on the streets again with a renewed. just i think a lot of people did vote for the muslim brotherhood in egypt because they wanted economic changes not just getting rid of mubarak and having morsi and morsi we know

he's obviously. a very different political figure. and carried on much the same policies in terms of economic policy in libya the uprising took a bloody turn moammar gadhafi has ruled the country for over forty years was deposed and killed in two thousand and eleven and he nearly the government has been struggling to control parts of the country going as far as besieging the entire town of bani walid for allegedly providing shelter to diehard khadafi supporters the are using heavy machinery to demolish the demolished houses they can be using now. guys again it's just a feeling people children and now really sick reaming we would know humanity of the wanted to please help us save our family. i got this time to make libya had a quirk of a place where no one can stop them and they have unlimited money and we've been to

the western leaders were quick to praise changes across the middle east they said it was the beginning of a new democratic era for the region but the model of democracy they may have had in mind doesn't seem to be the right fit i think it has to be a different type of a democratic system. the democracy that the u.s. would like to impose upon egypt tunisia and morocco and the other countries throughout the region and even libya where what was waged last year to topple the gadhafi government is not suitable to the people inside of that region in tunisia in an r.t. . success against all odds some of russia's most outstanding athlete share their stories after this break.

it's perched atop a jaw drop and the view from that the ball scrub and stretches as far as the eye can see apt for a city that chilled all of siberia for centuries. it lost its economic importance even before it was bypassed by the chance siberian railway but the poles cremains a spiritual center. oh scenes like these are a yearly occurrence thousands of all the docks worshippers themselves and blessid water to commemorate the baptism of jesus. in the fifteen eighties the russians had only just conquered siberia taking it from the muslims. surrounded by enemies the ball supposed to be their stronghold constructed on top of an all the city but soon enough it became an economic hub

siberian fire was the oil of its time bringing in a third of all russia's state revenue but the balls committed location head of the uses for the russians the russian heiress the crowds who led a revolt against the czar and eight hundred twenty five known as the decembrists will stand here and drove there they created a replica high society adopting the latest fashions as soon as they came out or at least once they made it from paris to siberia but the city also serves up some bit of irony for the russian royal family after the bolshevik revolution. this is the office where nicholas and second spend most of the last year of his life his whole family had been exiled here they were fairly comfortable existence this was a big house but they weren't allowed to see visitors or go outside themselves leaving this ordinary normal countryside lifestyle they even had thoughts of a skate but within the year the czar and his family would be there.

since childhood for the americas always stood out from the spears he hates losing and has never missed a single training session he came first in everything swimming ballroom dancing or chess at the age of sixteen started to lift weights four years later he took on the bronze medal in weightlifting from the london paralympics. coming in third place at the olympic games was his first serious defeat. the number one saloon and bronze medal for me was poor consolation because when you know that you really could do better but you could show a much better result of course that upsets you but i'm only twenty.